


I Decided It Was Worth It To Risk It

by SyrupLime



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, I put teen cause the make out ig?, JUST FLUFF REALLY, M/M, Oh, and threw it in a blender, and weed, childhood best friends, i just needed to write for this ship, if you took the show, some side ships but they aren’t important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 15:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyrupLime/pseuds/SyrupLime
Summary: Billy wishes he could be more than just Steve’s best friend.Turns out, he isOrTwo boys get high and their lives are better for it





	I Decided It Was Worth It To Risk It

**Author's Note:**

> If you can’t tell, I have never been high before so I just took a shot

“What are we doing here?”

“Having fun, Harrington.”

Steve groaned as he followed his best friend through the trees. Billy had climbed up to Steve’s window and had woken him up. Steve hadn’t been too upset, but he wasn’t expecting a three am trek through the creepy woods around Hawkins. It was only the second time his parents had left him home without a nanny and Steve would have preferred to be spending it gorging on all the snacks in the house and reading his dad’s Playboys. Not out in the dark, cold and tired. Oh, what he did for friendship. 

“Billy”, he whined, nearly stumbling over the tree roots and wet leaves. 

“Will you quit whining, we’re almost there.”

Billy rolled his eyes at his friend. He knew when he had decided to head to Steve’s house that the boy would be complaining the whole time. But after his dad kicked him out, he just wanted to walk through the forest and get high with his best friend. The fourteen and thirteen year old had been friends since they were six and seven. The Hargrove’s had just moved up to Indiana and Billy has been angry at everything and everyone in the town. Then Steve had hit him in the head with his lunchbox and basically coerced Billy into being friends with him. And here they are, seven years later, still best friends. 

At least, Billy was Steve’s best friend. To Billy, Steve was a whole lot more. Not that he could ever tell him. 

“And, here we are”, Billy proclaimed proudly as they reached the spot he had found a few weeks ago. The trees opened up into a glade with a skate ramp sitting in the middle. Billy wasn’t sure how it got there, but enough weird stuff had happened in Hawkins since he had been there, that he had stopped questioning it. 

Billy jumped up into the skate ramp and sat down, legs hanging over the edge. Steve scrambled up as Billy pulled a small Ziplock bag from his backpack. When Steve saw what was in the bag, he nearly fell off the ramp again. Billy laughed at the look of shock on his friend’s face. 

“Is that marijuana?!”, Steve gasped trying to grab the bag. Billy held it away, rolling his eyes at his pout. He pulled a sheet from the bag and sloppily rolled a joint. The dealer had shown him the basics, but he was still thirteen. Once it was rolled, Billy pulled the lighter from his pocket and lit the end. He took a puff before handing it to Steve. 

“How did you get your hands on this?”, Steve asked, handing the joint back to Billy. 

Billy gave him a look as he smoked, “How do you think? I bought it.”

“With what money?”

“My lawn mowing money from this summer.”

“Dude”, Steve huffed out in surprise, blowing smoke. “That must of taken at least half of it.”

Billy shrugged and turned away from his friend. He took another hit before handing the joint back to the other boy. 

Steve watched his friend. The weed was starting to make him all floaty, but Billy looked unfazed. As the joint burned away, so did Steve’s inhibitions. There had been a question in the back of his head, but only now got the courage to ask it. 

“Why did you climb my wall tonight?”

“What? The weed not good enough for you?”, Billy asked, avoiding the question. 

Steve didn’t answer and eventually Billy sighed and fell back against the ramp. Steve matched his movement and leaned back. They watched the sliver of sky they could see through the trees. 

“He kicked me out”, Billy said finally. “Literally.”

Steve felt his heart clench at his friends words. He knew what Billy’s dad did to him, but they never really talked about it. He hated that he had to go through that. Nobody deserved that, especially not Billy. 

Steve thought for a minute before whispering, “You want to stay at my house tonight?”

It was quiet and Steve was tense, afraid Billy would clam up and brush him away. But finally he said, “Sure”, and that was the end of it. 

When the joint had well and truly burned out and the sky was light enough to retrace their path without the flashlights, the two boys made their way back to Steve’s house. Billy tried to climb the wall again, but Steve just walked around the house and opened the door with the key under the mat. They headed up to Steve’s room and he threw some clothes at Billy before heading to the shower. He felt damp and dirty from the hike and wanted to be clean before knocking out for the rest of the day. 

Billy laid in Steve’s bed and Steve’s clothes as his head was filled with thoughts of the brunette. Billy knew Steve liked girls, but he couldn’t help but hope that maybe his friend could be more. He fell asleep as a tired Steve fell into the bed beside him. 

Billy woke up a few hours later to find Steve nearly wrapped around him. The other boy had his face nestled into the crook of his neck, one arm across the blonde’s chest and a leg wrapped around one of Billy’s. Billy watched his friend for a bit before bringing his hand up and running it through the curls on Steve’s head. The boy made a noise in his sleep and leaned into the touch. Billy was vaguely aware that he probably shouldn’t be doing this when he heard, “That feels nice.”

The blonde froze as his friend slowly woke up. Steve frowned a bit, asking, “Why’d you stop?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Keep doing it”, Steve mumbled, cutting him off and burrowing back into Billy’s neck. “I liked it.”

Hesitantly, Billy resumed his motion, Steve relaxing more in his tired state. Eventually, Billy relaxed as well, humming quietly as he played with the chocolate curls. 

“Hey Billy?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever thought about kissing me?”

Billy tensed, but didn’t stop his motions. “Why d’you ask?”

Steve’s face tinged read as he pulled away a bit to look at Billy. “Well, Nancy said that she knew she liked Jonathan because she thought about kissing him, and…”

“And?”, Billy urges softly, curious. 

“And I thought about it”, Steve continued hesitantly. “And realized that I’d be okay with kissing boys or girls, but I’ve really only thought about kissing you. So I was wondering if maybe you’d want to kiss me.”

Steve was blushing furiously and couldn’t look at Billy. Billy felt like his heart had stopped. Steve was starting to look uncomfortable and was about to say something—to brush it away or make an excuse or something—but Billy cut him off. 

“Yes.”

Steve looked up in shock. The blonde acted quickly, grabbing his friend’s face before bringing their lips together. Steve recovered from his shock quickly and kissed back. 

It was awkward, as first kisses are sure to be, and it only lasted a few seconds, but it took both of the boys’ breaths away. Once they had pulled back a bit, they gazed at each other with wonder and fondness, Billy continuing to thread his fingers through Steve’s hair. 

Steve grinned slowly and leaned his forehead against Billy’s. He closed his eyes and hummed at the feeling of his friend’s hand in his hair. Billy frowned suddenly, a thought intruding into their perfect image. 

“Steve”, Billy said, watching the boy’s eyes flutter open. “I don’t think we can tell other people about this.”

“I know”, Steve replies quietly. “Doesn’t mean we can’t do this, though.”

Steve pulled the other boy closer and connected their lips again and the outside world melted away.

***

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Billy, I have to get back to work.”

“Work can wait.”

Steve groaned against his boyfriend’s lips as they continued to make out in the back room of Scoops Ahoy. Steve had taken his fifteen minute break twenty minutes ago when Billy had come in after his shift at the pool. Robin had glared at Billy when he started to pull Steve into the back and Steve had sent her an apologetic look. After Robin had come out to them, Billy hadn’t hesitated to take up all of his boyfriends free (and occupied) time. 

“Billy”, Steve whined again as Billy started to make his way down his neck. 

He finally pulled away with a groan. “How does your boss expect me to let you work when your dressed like this?”, he complained, gesturing to Steve’s uniform. 

Billy had nearly died the first time he saw Steve in his Scoops uniform. Billy had known that his lifeguard uniform would send Steve into a flustered mess—even after five years together—but he hadn’t expected the same in return. Billy had nearly face planted walking into the store the first time he saw Steve. Max had found that particularly amusing as she and her girlfriend ordered their ice cream.

“Yeah, well, if I have to watch you up on that chair for hours while every girl in a mile radius ogles you, you can keep your hands off of me for the rest of my shift”, Steve argued, pulling away from the blonde. 

Steve exited the storage room and Billy followed, grudgingly. Fortunately, the only people in the shop were Robin and the Nerd Squad. 

If you’d’ve told Billy five years ago that he would be chaperoning his little sister and his boyfriend’s adopted kids, he might’ve knocked your teeth out. As it was, that had quickly become the case when Max and Jane had (secretly) started dating. Steve’s four child friends—who had only really known Billy from the times he had looked ready to kill them for interrupting the very limited time he had with his boyfriend—had quickly joined them. And know, he was the very reluctant shepherd to his and his boyfriend’s pack of six rowdy sheep. 

“Stop stealing my only coworker, Hargrove”, Robin demanded as the pair appeared. Billy shot her a smirk before heading over to the kids who were currently arguing about what was bound to be nothing. 

“You nerds ready to go or are you gonna sit here and yell at each other all day”, Billy’s voice cut in. Max, Lucas, and Mike—the usual offenders—glared at him, while Jane and Will gave him apologetic glances. Dustin ignored him and went over to talk to Steve. Billy rolled his eyes as the argument started up again and slid into a chair. 

Customers came in and out and Billy’s eyes never left his boyfriend. Five years, and hiding still wasn’t any easier. He wished he could openly flirt and show his live for Steve in public, but people in Hawkins were idiots. Not to mention his dad would kill him. Steve caught his eye and seemed to know what he was thinking. He gave him a sad smile before turning back to the woman in front of him. 

Quietly—as was his habit—Will Byers slipped into the chair on the other side of the table. He didn’t say anything and Billy let him collect his thoughts. 

“How did you know you liked boys?”, the small boy finally asked softly, so as not to be heard by anyone else. Billy had been expecting the question but it still took him a minute to think of an answer. 

“I didn’t really”, he finally answered. “I knew that I loved Steve and it wasn’t until I hit middle school that the way I loved him was how I was supposed to love girls.”

Will nodded and Billy could almost see the cogs in his head turning. He was quiet for a minute before asking, “How did you know if he would like you back?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t even expect him to like girls.”

“Then, how did you ask him out?”, the boy asked, confused. 

Billy chuckled before saying, “I didn’t.”

Will looked even more confused, but the conversation was interrupted by the raising of voices at the kids’ booth. Billy rolled his eyes and got up. He dragged Mike and Lucas out of the shop, Max following after, still arguing. Jane and Will followed once they had pulled Dustin away. Billy drove them all back to Steve’s and made sure they called their parents before starting whatever it was they did. 

It was about two hours later when Steve nearly fell through the door. Customers had been almost non-stop once the crew had left. Plus, Robin took a half an hour break as revenge for his makeout session with his boyfriend. When he got home, he collapsed into Billy’s lap on the couch. The other boy’s hands quickly went to his hair and his back, making Steve feel better through touch alone. Steve definitely had made a good decision by keeping him around. 

He was nearly drifting off when Will suddenly asked, “How did you two get together?”

Max has groaned, having heard the story hundreds of times before. Jane and Dustin both stopped what they were doing, also having heard the story before, but loving it. Lucas and Mike begrudgingly payed attention. 

Steve groaned, facing heating up, as he tried to burrow farther into his boyfriend’s thigh. He could feel Billy grinning at him, knowing how embarrassed he was by the story. 

“The summer before Steve’s freshman year, I scaled his wall and made him follow me through the woods to smoke weed I had gotten”, Billy began. 

“Don’t do drugs, kids”, Steve cut in here. 

“We smoked a bit and he asked if I wanted to sleep over at his place. I agreed, and we came back here and fell asleep. When I woke up, he was half curled around me. I started doing kind of what I’m doing now—I was tired and still kind of high and he’s cute when he’s sleeping, sue me—and he slowly woke up. When he did, he asked if I wanted to kiss him. When I asked what he meant, he told me that Nancy had told him that you knew you liked someone when you wanted to kiss them. He said he wanted to kiss me and he wanted to know if I wanted to kiss him. I said yes, and...”, here, Billy paused and grinned. “And yatta yatta, now we’re here.”

By the end, Jane and Dustin were smiling, Will was deep in thought, and Lucas and Mike were giving Steve a strange look. 

“You asked him if he wanted to kiss you?”, Mike asked. 

“Hey, I was fourteen and tired, you cannot blame me for my actions”, Steve argued. “Besides, I got a boyfriend out of it, so I’d count it as a win.”

Billy grinned and that seemed to be the end of that because the kids turned back to whatever it was that they were doing before and promptly ignored the couple. Billy leaned down and pressed a kiss to Steve’s temple before whispering, “I’m really glad you asked me.”

“Yeah”, Steve said, turning to give his boyfriend a propped kiss before laying down again. “Me too.”

And if the following week the couple saw two boys kiss in their old smoking spot, no one had to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it


End file.
